Race factors weigh heavy on opioid epidemic, Florida newspaper finds

Ninety percent of opioid deaths and 80 percent of opioid-related convictions in Florida involve whites, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune found in a recent investigative series. But the policies enacted to combat the opioid crisis are harder on minorities, the newspaper found.

According to the Department of Corrections data, black defendants are sentenced to 68 percent more time in lockup than white defendants for felony drug offenses.
OBTS shows that black defendants are sentenced to 67 percent more time for these crimes.

Read the full series at the Herald-Tribune